The Growth of International Business

According to a March 2015 survey by Wells Fargo, 80% of business executives that were surveyed agree that companies in the United States should expand internationally to ensure long-term growth and continued success. The survey also found that China and Canada are the markets most important to U.S. companies today. Even though the insight into business overseas is positive, executives still face some challenges including regulatory issues here in the United States and abroad, currency fluctuations or exchange rates, and political stability.

“In two of our three regions, regulatory issues are locking up our prices. As a result, our profit margins are less – limiting what we can charge,” said one anonymous executive that was surveyed.

Despite these challenges companies in the United States see great potential in bigger expansion into international markets, with 60% of the companies surveyed reporting that their long-term international development and expansion will increase considerably.

A key factor to expansion is knowledge, according to international best-selling author, Brenda R. McGuire. In a press release last week for her new book, the Soul of Success, she said that her experiences which have taken her to more than 70 countries she’s “learned the importance of understanding the culture you’re working with in order to avoid making embarrassing and costly cultural mistakes, which can lead to lost business opportunities, damaged relationships, and lost revenue.”

As a company that understands the intricacies of many cultures, Devon International Group (DIG) Founder and CEO, Dr. John A. Bennett sought to expand into many international markets, China, being one of them. We officially opened the doors of our Devon Medical Products Shanghai office in 2008 and since then it has been the research and development hub for all medical device design, quality control, and regulatory activities. Additionally, since 2012, we have operated a manufacturing facility in Nantong, which is approximately 100 miles north of Shanghai.

Recently, Dr. Bennett visited China to stay abreast of the business challenges and successes that our international partners face on a daily basis and to continue to nurture the two basic principles that Devon International Group was built on; “The World is Flat”, and the “Blue Ocean Strategy”.

The first principle is based on the idea that business should never be limited to the United States or even the Western Hemisphere but that it should always be conducted on a global scale. The second being based on the idea that we do not compete in “bloody”, highly competitive markets (red oceans) but instead that we create new niche markets or blue oceans but using innovation, technology, and continue to cultivate relationships that will support expansion well into the future.

In addition to operating in China, DIG employs over 500 people in 20 countries around the world with the mission of providing affordable access in healthcare, technology, and other industries.

For more information on all of the DIG companies and the other international markets besides China we operate in, visit our companies’ page.

Share this:

Christine Olley is the Marketing Project Coordinator for Devon International Group where she handles blogging for Devon Medical Products, Social Media Management, and a variety of other creative and administrative tasks for the Devon Companies.